Washington, DC
– On March 12,
the House of Representatives passed a modest extension of a provision of
immigration law known as Section 245(i). This
little understood and much maligned provision is simply about the location
–that is, where – already qualified aliens may apply for their legal
permanent residency. On March 28, the
Federation for American Immigration Reform put out a press release claiming that
this provision somehow opened a loophole for terrorists to gain legal permanent
residency in the U.S.

Contrary to the Federation’s allegations, Section
245(i) does not operate independently of the long-standing provisions of our
immigration laws that make known terrorists inadmissible to, and deportable
from, our country. A person seeking
Section 245(i) processing must:

Prove to the INS that they have the requisite
family relationship or job offer;

Wait in the same line as everyone else for the visa
application to be approved or denied;

Prove that they meet all the requirements for permanent
residence in the U.S., including passing background and security and
"affidavit of support" requirements.

In perhaps the most widely spread series of
distortions imaginable, opponents allege that Section 245(i) provides some kind
of magical protection from deportation and some kind of magical blanket waiver
of all of our immigration laws. Nothing
could be further from the truth. In
fact, Section 245(i) does not provide any authorization to remain in the United
States, does not provide employment authorization, and does not provide any
protection from deportation, unless and until it is the applicant’s
turn, a visa is available, and the person has been approved for lawful permanent
resident status, a process that typically takes years.

Contrary to the Federation’s allegations,
terrorism-related provisions in the law would deny admission to any alien who:

Has engaged in a terrorist activity, including
providing material support to a terrorist organization, being a member in a
terrorist organization, using one’s position of prominence to endorse or
espouse terrorist activity, or preparing or planning any terrorist activity;

The Attorney General has reasonable grounds to
believe is engaged in or is likely to engage after entry in any terrorist
activity;

The Attorney General knows or has reason to
believe seeks to enter the United States to engage, even incidentally, in
any unlawful activity.

Furthermore, people seeking to use Section 245(i)
are screened in many other areas, all of which can be used to deny an
application. These areas include:

Health-related grounds, including mental and
physical disorders;

Criminal convictions

Drug trafficking (with or without a criminal
conviction)

Prostitution and commercialized vice

Government officials who have violated
religious freedom

Smuggling and human trafficking

Money laundering

Adverse foreign policy consequences

Membership in totalitarian parties

Perpetrating Nazi persecution or genocide

Likely to become a public charge

Stowaways

Anyone committing document fraud or
misrepresentation

Practicing polygamists

International child abductors

Unlawful voters

Various other documentation requirements

We
list the above grounds to underscore what the Federation is trying to obscure: immigrants
who qualify for permanent residence and get to complete their paperwork in the
U.S. (under Section 245i) are subject to intense scrutiny.
They face a rigorous screening process that involves a lengthy
application, criminal background checks, in-person interviews, and other
hurdles. Applicants must be
fingerprinted and the fingerprints are checked against databases maintained by
the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
In addition, certain identifying biographic data about each applicant is
transmitted to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
In return, the CIA advises the INS when information in their files
appears to relate to an applicant. In
addition, the basis for eligibility (such as a marriage or an offer of
employment) is closely examined, and any suspicion of fraud or misrepresentation
is carefully investigated.

It is time to stop the fear mongering and false
allegations against Section 245(i). It
is time to set the record straight.